


take all that away, and what's left?

by quirkfics



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Fem!Izuku - Freeform, Genderswap, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-07-15 04:48:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16055864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quirkfics/pseuds/quirkfics
Summary: "You know this is kind of frightening, right? Seeing someone try and shove some unknown package into your home in the middle of the night?" Izuku frowns, summoning forth all the courage that she'd read about in All Might's books as she takes the envelope and shoves it back down into the stunned blond man's arms.





	1. stranger than fiction

**Author's Note:**

> prompt from the bnha kinkmeme: Fem!Deku is this generation’s vampire slayer. Todoroki is the brooding vampire with a soul and her first love. Bakugou is the pain in the ass vamp who begrudgingly falls in love with her.
> 
> BakuDeku or TodoBakuDeku.

Escapist literature had always been Izuku's bread and butter. Sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal - the novels were her only friends in middle school, the only thing that kept her hoping for something more when day in and out she was mocked, or teased. (For her freckles, her absent father, her propensity for kindness even after she'd been snubbed - kids can find too many things to hurt with.) The paranormal author by the pen name _All Might_ , wrote her absolute favorite stories though. 

All Might's attention to detail, his prose, and his obvious study of mythology and folklore across the globe made for heavy novels - but best of all were the heroines he wrote about. Women, from all walks of life, and eras in history, called to fight horror creatures that threatened their homes, or the _world_. Izuku **devoured** the books, kept notes about the characters and timelines and talked her mother's ears off about how seamlessly All Might blended his stories with true historic events. (And the _dreams_ the stories gave her, as if she were experiencing the echoes of those lives!)

"Sometimes it feels like he's writing about his _own_ experiences, which would mean that at least _some_ , maybe not all, he's covered so much, and the thought of someone facing _all_ of the creatures he's written about-" Izuku's torrential downpour of words halted as soon as Inko sighed. "Uh, sorry Mom," she hurried to say, shoving several spoonfuls of food in her mouth. "I know you're not really-"

"Izuku, sweetie, I know you love these books, but-"

"S'ok!" Izuku's mouth was too full, but she forced some of the food down anyway, wanting to avoid this conversation. Again. She _knew_ what was coming, she knew that Inko didn't want to hurt her, but this- "I have some studying to do!" Izuku almost shouted the moment her mouth was empty. She gathered up her dishes, ignoring her mother's wince as she rushed to the sink, the cutlery clattering. "I'll help clean up when I'm done!" And then she was gone, straight into her room, the door closing behind her with the softest click possible. 

She had kept the tears at bay, just barely, but Izuku wasn't sure how long she'd be able to continue putting off the conversation her mother so desperately wanted to have. Part of Izuku wanted to tell her mother that she understood (of course she did, she saw the looks adults and kids alike gave every time she mentioned her passions), but she just _couldn't_ give this up. All of this was an intrinsic _part_ of her, and she wasn't sure who she'd be without it. The thought of throwing her mother's worry back into her face though - that didn't sit well with her. 

Izuku sighed, grabbing All Might's most recent book (three years old already, and the binding was tired, and she wanted to know more about the next book, of _course_ she did, but All Might was an intensely private person and despite how curious she was, how many questions...) and fell asleep somewhere in the midst of re-reading chapter ten. 

-

When Izuku woke up, her room was lit only by moonlight. For a moment she feels rested, her mind still hazy with dreams (there had been these brilliant _eyes_ , one so dark a gray it was nearly black, and the other such a vivid blue that she felt like she was _drowning_ in some tropical ocean - or had they been red? Red like candied apples..) but then she realizes her book isn't on her chest any longer. She raises her head, brushing messy curls out of her eyes and sees that her book has one of her worn bookmarks tucked carefully between it's pages, placed in it's special spot on her bedside table. The sight of it there causes a pained breath to escape her lungs, knowing that at some point her mom had come into the room and found her reading it. Again. 

Her cheeks grow hot, and this time she can't hold back her tears. She cries until her nose is running, until her throat aches and her pillow is a mess - the tears absolutely endless. Izuku doesn't know what time it is, but when she finally shuffles into the bathroom, her mom is in bed and the apartment is quiet. She can hear voices outside, but that isn't exactly a surprise - she was fairly sure that one of the people on their floor was a big partier, because people were always coming and going at all hours.

She had finished cleaning up her face as best she could, and headed into the kitchen for some water, when she heard a fumbling noise at the front door. Izuku pauses, her glass of water halfway to her mouth, sure she's imagining things - but there it is again, a strange crinkling noise and a low voice, cursing. 

Adrenaline thrumming through her veins, she sets down her cup and creeps into the hallway, staring at the front door... and the thick envelope someone is attempting to shove beneath it. 

A frustrated breath escapes her. Either one of her classmates is playing a prank (would they go that far? Yeah. Yeah, Izuku thinks they _would_ ), or someone has the wrong address. Izuku peeks through the peephole, but all she can see is blond hair and lanky shoulders, hunched over in such a way that she knows the person is on their knees. Before the person crouched there can shove the envelope further into her house, Izuku yanks the envelope in and throws open the door, just barely grabbing the handle again before it ricochets off of the wall.

"You know this is kind of frightening, right? Seeing someone try and shove some unknown package into your home in the middle of the night?" Izuku frowns, summoning forth all the courage that she'd read about in All Might's books as she takes the envelope and shoves it back down into the stunned blond man's arms. He fumbles with it, nearly dropping it twice.

"Wait, no! I'm not- hey!" He stands up hastily, seizing the door as Izuku attempts to slam it in his face and forcibly wedges his shoe into the crack. "I'm sorry, you're right, but I _have_ to speak with you at some point tomorrow, and I thought that maybe-"

Izuku is immediately second guessing her decision. She'd just opened her home to an _unknown man in the middle of the night_! Should she scream? Should she shout for her mom or slam the door onto his foot or-

"Just take this! Read what's inside, and get back to me, _please_ , this is of the utmost importance because soon they're going to be _flocking_ to you, drawn by your power and-" The man grunts as Izuku pushes on the door, bouncing it _way_ harder than she'd meant to off of his foot, and there's a crunching noise and then all of the blood is leaving his face. 

"You broke my foot!" He whispers hoarsely, dropping the envelope in her doorway and stumbling backwards, clutching at the injured appendage with trembling hands. 

"Oh, no, I didn't- I'm so sorry, but you- you..." Izuku lets go of the door handle, ready to reach out and help him, immediately contrite, but then she freezes, her green eyes growing wide with shock when she sees that the handle has become a _twisted mess of metal_. Her hand is completely fine, but something inside her is saying that _she_ did that, she crushed a metal door handle like it was tissue paper!

Izuku screams. The man hobbles away in the midst of her frightened fit, and between her shuffling feet and her mother rushing into the hall to check on her, Izuku loses track of the envelope. In fact, she doesn't think about the envelope again until morning, after the cops have been called, and the mangled handle explained away as some mad man trying to break in. Inko calls the school, insisting she stay home sick, and it isn't until Izuku is on her own for the day, laying half awake on the sofa, that she remembers it. 

She pokes around in the hallway for a few minutes, and eventually finds the envelope in the hallway closet.  
"Must have kicked it in there," she mutters to herself, debating. She should call the police back, shouldn't she? Maybe the packet of information would help them find that _weird_ guy, but... A few moments later she's opening the packet, scattering the papers across the coffee table. 

On the very top is a letter, addressed with her name and birth date, and an apology from Toshinori Yagi for a minor magical mishap that led them to the wrong door over 16 years ago. 

-

Two nights later Izuku Midoriya is awkwardly fighting a _slime demon_ , attempting to save the civilian it's trying to body snatch, while one Toshinori Yagi ( _aka ALL MIGHT!!_ What even is her life?!) finds the spell that will banish it from this realm. 

She finally gets her hands on the young man it'd been attempting to snatch, ripping him from the muck with a scream, when All Might shouts out the correct counterspell. Instead of complete banishment, however, the slime just.. loses sentience. Izuku is suddenly hip deep in slime, her hair sodden and the guy she'd saved doesn't even stick around to thank her! She turns around in time to see a boot disappear, which is kind of disheartening (it's not like she'd expected a kiss or something, but she has some _fabulous_ hero lines saved up, really!) but All Might is still there, smiling. 

He looks nothing like his author photo ("Do you know how hard it is to keep up that muscle mass, young Midoriya?"), but her _hero_ is her Watcher and she's Chosen or - it's still a little much to wrap her mind around. Everything she'd been yearning for, everything she'd been _dreaming_ about, however, is finally in reach. 

It takes her a second, smiling ridiculously big back at him, her eyes watering, before she realizes his smile is... More of a grimace. 

"This, young Midoriya, is why I told you to always keep several spare changes of clothes in a go-bag. You brought one, right?" All Might is attempting to be sneaky about it, but he's holding his nose, and then Izuku understands that she's not _crying_ , her eyes are watering from the _stench of the slime_. 

"Yep," she chokes out. 

"Good," All Might coughs, suddenly pointing to a hose at the end of the alley. "Shall we give you a rinse?"


	2. a pseudonyms aid in deceit

Young Midoriya's love of his books makes Toshinori's training her as the Slayer easier... and yet harder as well. She grasps knowledge wonderfully quick, and due to her reading she's fairly up to date on the history of some of the most well remembered Slayers. Strategy too, is something she does well with, and Toshinori is ashamed to admit that even with the details he kept _out_ , Midoriya may have found her way into the occult side of the world even if she _hadn't_ been Called. 

_The Council is going to kill me as soon as she says something about those books._

Midoriya is as honest as they come, and she'd readily agreed to keep his publishing of those works a secret, but... She was just such a _fangirl._

"Are you saying I'm a _Hunter?_ " She'd demanded once she'd decided he wasn't a threat to her, green eyes glittering with joy. (Part of him is relieved he doesn't have to _fight_ to get her to believe him. He'd been dreading attempting to convince a teenage girl that otherworldly dangers were real for _weeks_. Her almost blind is acceptance is worrisome on a completely different scale.)

"Ye- wait. No, I changed things, you see, names and what not. Uh, you're actually called The Slayer, and I'm-" Toshinori wasn't allowed the chance to finish.

"Slayer?" She'd repeated, looking a bit put out. "But _Hunter_ sounds so much cooler! Is that why you chose it? Maybe _Seeker_ would have been cool too, you know, seeking out the dark things? But then, Slayer! It just sounds... It sounds like-"

"Killer," he'd finally added, heart twisting in his chest at the expression on Midoriya's face. "The creatures you'll be facing cannot be swayed, young Midoriya. People have tried, over, and over again. The Slayers have always existed to keep them from overwhelming the world, by any means necessary."

"S-so like, okay. Fighting the bad guys. I can do this!" She flexes her, frankly _scrawny_ arms as she speaks. "I mean, I have super strength now! But I really am bad at using it, and I got away with the door handle, okay? And Mom didn't seem to care much about the broom, but-" Midoriya's chest is puffed up, her freckled cheeks turning pink as she rambles, but they just don't have _time_ for it. 

"Young Midoriya. That is why _I am here_. I'm your Watcher, a teacher, a confidant. I'm here to help you train for this. You'll have to train hard, push yourself further than you think you can, because-" She interrupts him, again, and Toshinori barely keeps his eyes from rolling. She's so _earnest_ it hurts.

"This is so awesome!! I mean, I am so. So scared. I have never done anything like this before!" She gestures between them, ignoring, or not noticing, his frown. "But I am.. I am going to give it my all. I promise, All Might!" The confidence on her face is endearing enough that his irritation over her interruptions is soothed. For the moment.

"Don't- just call me Toshinori. Or sensei, that would be preferable, just. Not All Might." He sighs.

"Yes, All- sensei! Of course! This is just - it's so cool! Oh, man, it reminds me of your last book, and- Oh, hey! Will I ever get to meet the other-"

Thankfully they were interrupted by Midoriya's phone, and with a quick exchange of information about training, they parted ways. But... That last comment. That was why Midoriya's enjoyment of his books made things so difficult. Toshinori's heart had _ached_ when he'd recounted the tales of those Slayers, and while it would have been the honorable thing to do, sharing the absolute truth of their lives - he had just wanted to change them. He couldn't save those women, those _girls_ , but he could give their tales the futures they had deserved.  
Every single one of his books ended happily. 

Young Midoriya has no idea that she is the _only_ Slayer, and sooner or later, Toshinori is going to have to tell her about it. He's not looking forward to it in the slightest.

-

When she starts at UA, Toshinori finds that young Midoriya is prone to collecting strays. She somehow ends up making friends with one of the most naturally gifted young witches that Toshinori has ever met (and the Council is _full_ of practitioners, no matter how much they attempt to deny it). While he would never begrudge her the life she is building outside of her Slaying duties, he does stress that the two should be kept separate. She agrees, nodding like a bobble-head, not wanting to draw any innocents into danger.

She makes the executive decision, however, to spill the beans when she and Uraraka are accosted by a tengu one evening. Toshinori tries to make excuses to himself. He can't _blame_ her, really, because the both of them came out of it okay, and it turns out that Uraraka has this natural affinity for _floating_ things? At least, that's what he gets from young Midoriya's voicemail, because she's so excited about it all that she isn't pausing between sentences. 

A week later, the two girls manage to find the _only_ Watcher legacy in their entire school. Iida Tenya gets a little too intense with his by-the-book mentality, but he means well, and he's so oddly encouraging of the girls in their prospective studies and training that... Toshinori just kind of lets that association slip under the radar as well. (It makes him _tense_ though, what if young Iida reveals one of his secrets? The book are bad enough, of course, but if he mentions the other Slayers...)  
Yet he ends up having his fears about a casual slip of the Slayer secret assuaged fairly quickly.

Frequently over the months, her two friends end up following young Midoriya to her training sessions with him. Iida manages to catch Toshinori alone while the girls are distracted one afternoon, discussing their anger about a perverted classmate of theirs, and so neither of them hear, or even make an attempt to listen. 

"I.. I don't believe, All Might-sensei," and really, _he_ can't believe that Midoriya had made his pen name _stick_ in this way! "Midoriya - she doesn't know how she came to be _Called_? The tenet of Slaying?"

Toshinori can't look at Iida, and he most definitely can't look at Midoriya. He turns until he's staring out the window of the shoddy little gym he's put together next to the beach. 

"Do you want to tell her?" He finally asks Iida, and his shoulders ache, with guilt. With fear.

"Uh- no. No, I don't. I really feel that it would, you see, I-" Iida finally stops, adjusting his glasses before turning to watch the two girls in their animated conversation. 

"It should be me. I know, and it will be. But she doesn't deserve any of this, and it's... Hard. Sometimes I'm worried I'm failing as a Watcher. I care too much." Toshinori grins when Iida's shocked look quickly morphs into one of decision. 

"I think the reason you're such a good Watcher is for precisely that reason, All Might-sensei. But... It would be much better for all involved if you tell her sooner. Rather than - later." Iida marches back over to the girls after that, joining in on the discussion of their _deplorable_ classmate. 

The smile fades from his face, and Toshinori feels like a fraud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly have a lot of All Might feelings, all the gosh darn time.   
> So! I have quite a bit of this written, but I know myself - if I don't keep some back as cushion, I'll post it all in one go and lose some traction. Todoroki and Bakugou are most definitely on their way and while I am so, _so_ tempted to immediately throw all of our lovely class 1A in here, I don't want to bog everything down. I hope you're enjoying my merging of these two wonderful series though! It would be fantastic to hear what you think  <3


	3. the dichotomy between dream and reality

Izuku cannot recall the last time she was this truly happy. She knows that her mother still isn't fully supportive of her love for fiction, but Inko doesn't seem to worry quite as much, seeing as Izuku is doing good in other things. She's always been talented in school, grades had never been an issue, but now she has _friends_. 

Uraraka and Iida haven't come over to her home, or met her mother yet, but Izuku is always talking about them and has a plethora of pictures to share. She has an intense interest in exercise now (which must feel ridiculously sudden to Inko Midoriya - she'd been extremely skeptical about Izuku's sudden need for running shoes and a request for a healthier diet), and overall it's just so much easier to _smile_. 

Training is tough, of course, and her evenings are filled with fighting and hunting down dangerous creatures, but even the violence of it all isn't enough to change her attitude. All Might still won't answer all of her questions, and some of his answers about how he changed things in the books are frustrating, but he's very obviously learning about teaching as much as she is attempting to learn _from_ him. 

The only thing, recently, that Izuku would like to get under control are her _dreams_. What she'd once thought had been coincidental echoes of fiction are _true_ echoes of past Slayers. Sometimes Izuku dreams she's another girl, in another era, fighting long dead enemies. Sometimes she simply gets replays of her own fights with demons, but lately she thinks she might be getting precognitive ones. (All Might's fictional novels had mentioned precognitive dreams once or twice, but she isn't entirely sure where all the changes from fact to fiction have been made. She'll have to ask him, again.)

It always starts out the same: She's sitting next to a young man in one of the parks she patrols regularly. She's hyper-focusing on his clenched fist on his knee, wanting to soothe the tension, and his _voice_ , distorted, as if from far away, always repeats the exact same thing: "Even the _demon_ in me refused to be like him."

She wakes from the same dream, nearly nine months into being the Slayer, and can't fall back to sleep. She doesn't have school tomorrow, and training with All Might has been scheduled for the evening - if she slips out to patrol now, she can still get enough sleep to be perfectly healthy. 

When she reaches the park from her dream, wrapped in her favorite jade green jacket, it's nearly 2 AM. She'd run into a ridiculously new vampire on the way over, and it hadn't taken her long to dust him, but she'd yet to see much anyone else on her walk. Izuku stops at the merry-go-round, turning the creaky piece of equipment once so it's spinning, seeing her dream self sitting there, clear as daylight - she can't quite remember the young man she'd been with though. He is merely an indistinct shadow in her waking hours. 

She decides to slump onto the merry-go-round, cringing at the coldness seeping through her pants, but unwilling to make the trek back home just yet. She's been sitting there for a while, contemplating talking to All Might about the content of the dreams (they just.. feel so _personal_ ), when someone starts to cross the park. They halt when they spot her, which is the only reason she lets her gaze drift to them, and then her heart is in her throat. His _eyes_. One dark, the other fair- she's _seen_ them before. When?? 

It takes her a moment to realize that he's staring at her, just as hard as she's staring at him, which is the only reason she finally raises a hand to wave and break the tension. He looks away and her heart drops back into her chest, ricocheting around her rib cage. She has no idea who this guy is, but she summons a hesitant smile when he starts to walk towards her, even though he seems unwilling to meet her gaze. 

"Evening," he murmurs when he gets close enough. His voice is deep, and rough, as if from disuse, and Izuku is fairly sure that he intends on continuing past her, but she can't seem to keep her mouth shut.

"Isn't it technically morning?" She states, more than asks, and then immediately wishes she could take the words back. "I mean, sorry, never mind. I don't know your schedule, it could be your 'evening'! It's early morning for me though, I don't even know why I'm awake already, like, it is _that_ early." Of _course_ she's rambling.

"Hm," escapes him as he pauses, about seven feet away, just outside the circle of the street light. This close Izuku can see the exact shade of gray and crystalline blue in his eyes. There's a rippled burn scar surrounding his blue one, and his two-toned hair just seems to _fit_. None of this oddness detracts from his beauty. "You're right," he finally adds, no change in his vocal tone. "It's very early." He takes a few more steps in Izuku's direction, but she can see that it's only to gauge her comfort level with him passing by. His eyes keep focusing on the park gate, like he's worried he's going to have to make a run for it.

When she makes no sudden movements, and no response, he takes it as his leave to move. He doesn't change pace, or even expression, not even when she smiles at him again. 

"Uh. Have a nice morning?" She calls out, unable to help herself, once he's nearly to the gate. 

He halts and peeks over his shoulder at her, almost wary, but when he sees that she hasn't moved, he nods. "Safe travels," he says, just loud enough for her to catch, and then he's moving again, still at that same, unhurried pace. The gate creaks as he opens it to walk through, latching it behind himself with extra care, and then she loses track of him because of the tall shrubbery.

She isn't sure how she knows, but he's _sad_. And Izuku wants to change that. Desperately.


	4. lighting the fuse

Later that evening, when Izuku is walking to All Might's house with Uraraka and Iida, she brings up the handsome stranger from the park. How he'd felt _familiar_ somehow, his strange caution.

"He sounds like a tragic hero in a storybook," Uraraka murmurs, staring at Izuku with wide brown eyes and parted lips. 

"Or someone rather fond of playing with aesthetics," Iida adds as he takes a sip of his orange juice. Izuku examines Iida's face a little more carefully, but, as ever, Iida is an open book and his matter of fact tone is nothing but that: A simple statement of fact. She's never had friends, regardless of gender, but she can't say she didn't come into either of her friendships without preconcieved ideas. Izuku has been wonderfully happy with the way things both match up with and are completely different from her initial thoughts. 

"Maybe both!" Uraraka says with a sigh. "It's always nice to see people that are put together because they enjoy being that way, though."

"Was he human?" Iida suddenly asks, eyebrows drawing together in concern. He sidesteps to avoid a couple passing them on the sidewalk, barely noticing the strange looks they give him. Izuku silently shushes him, a finger to her lips, before she realizes what he's said. 

"What?" Izuku straightens her shoulders, immediately wanting to dispel the notion that the mystery guy could be anything _but_ human. "Of course he... He.." Well. Izuku doesn't actually know for sure. He'd been oddly wary of her, but she had chalked that up to them being strangers in the wee hours. There could have been a thousand reasons for his aversion, but if he'd been something other than human...

"I don't know?" Izuku finally answers, heat rising to her cheeks as she frowns. "It wasn't long after I'd _dusted_ ," and she puts an odd emphasis on the word, just in case any of the passing people are listening, "so I guess my sense of him could have been a bit out of wack. He didn't try and attack me though!"

Iida appears to be both relieved and more concerned than usual. "While I want to agree with you, Midoriya, a lack of violence in a... man," Iida cringes, very obviously wanting to simply get on with it and call a demon a demon. Izuku had insisted on coded speech though, and Iida was doing his best. Coded speech, after all, was a smart decision when discussing the supernatural in public. "That doesn't necessarily mean that they're human, or even harmless. It could mean that they're _old_ , and older... men- I'm sorry, this feels so inappropriate for me to say." 

Izuku wilts a bit, feeling guilty for the awkwardness, but before she can tell Iida that he can drop the code, or change it, he's continuing. 

" _Older men_ ," he pushes on, nose wrinkled, "are not the mindless creatures you typically run into. They _plan_. They've made it this far because of strategy. If you run into him again and sense nothing amiss, then wonderful! But if anything feels off... Just be careful, Midoriya."

"Iida, you're so considerate," Uraraka says in a teasing tone, though all of them can tell that her words are genuine. "Why did you think that he might not be- oh! Wait, look ou-"

Izuku walks into a stationary person, tripping and falling onto her rear, her backpack hitting the ground and spilling open. "Oww," she murmurs, rubbing at her hip after Iida and Uraraka help her back to her feet. 

"You couldn't have even _attempted_ to keep her from falling?" Iida demands of the man in their path.

"She's the one that bumped into _me_ , Four-Eyes!" An enraged voice says, and it's only after Izuku has embarrassedly gathered up a handful of her graded school papers, her name emblazoned across the top, that she looks up, intending to apologize - when a _sharp_ feeling shoots through her abdomen. 

The young man blocking their path now is familiar, from his angry stance to his ash blond hair, but it's his vibrant red eyes, raking her from head to toe before narrowing dangerously that have her losing her head and blurting: "It's you! That guy I saved from the sli-! Uh- wait, no, I mean-" Izuku's entire face flushes red when the guy _snarls_ at her. 

"Shut it! I don't have a clue what you're talking about, and you need to watch your god damned _step_ , your hear me?! Useless!" His fists are clenched, like he's forcibly stopping himself from reaching out and strangling her. 

"I'm, I'm so sorry! I should have been watching where I was going, I was distracted and- and of course, I was mistaken! That's so rude of me, really. Uh, I'm Midoriya Izuku, is there anything I can do to make it up to-" Izuku has been bowing, over and over again, but she straightens and reaches out her hand, hoping that maybe the guy will let it all go - but no dice.

He slaps her hand away, and Izuku swears for a moment that his eyes flash a golden yellow. "Don't touch me! You really are thick, aren't you, _Deku_?" Those red eyes snap from the papers crumpled against her chest to her mussed curls. "You can't even tell when-"

"That's enough!" Uraraka demands, slipping a reassuring arm through Izuku's. "She's apologized, and you're being an ungrateful brat!"

The young man splutters with indignation, his shoulders rising up to his ears, fists unclenching until they resemble _claws_ \- and that's when Izuku recognizes the sharp ache that's settled in her lower abdomen, pulsing every time he's gotten closer. He isn't a man. He's a _vampire_. 

"Ungrateful brat?!" He shouts, but Uraraka doesn't back down. If anything, she grows more fierce, stepping into the vampires personal space, her typically pink cheeks flushing red with fury. 

"You heard me! Who raised you? Because-" Uraraka squeaks as Izuku yanks her back, stepping forward to hide the shorter girl from sight. 

"That's enough, Uraraka," Izuku whispers, all of her fumbling nervousness leaving her in the space of a breath. Iida must recognize what's happening, must realize what the man actually is, because he quickly snags Uraraka's forearm and pulls her further away from the potential fight.

The crimson eyed vampire bares his teeth in a parody of a smile, but he doesn't shift. His eyes stay red, and his teeth stay at a human length, and he stays where he is, gaze flickering over Izuku's stance. 

"Maybe you're not completely useless, _Deku_. And I'll tell you what. Today, and today **ONLY** , you and your extra pals get a free pass."

"Why?" Izuku asks, instead of taking him at his word and urging her friends to hurry to safety. She regrets this almost immediately, but can't turn away from his piercing stare, not now.

His eyes narrow dangerously and the smile on him turns vicious. "Whether I like it or not, you _did_ help me out with that slime bastard. And with this? My debt is paid. Get your sorry ass out of my sight and I won't burn you alive."

"Burn me?" Izuku murmurs, confused. No throat ripping? No blood drinking? It's almost like he- The vampire twitches, his smile vanishing completely because of her continued insolence. 

"I think it's time to go, Midoriya," Iida reminds her, keeping one hand on Uraraka and reaching out slowly to grab onto her as well. His fingertips are cold on her bicep. 

"Listen to Four-eyes, _Deku_ , and be on your guard. The next time I see you, I'm going to kill you." The vampire shoulders her aside, and would have knocked her over a second time, if it wasn't for Iida's grip on her. 

"We must get to All Might-sensei, _now_ , Midoriya," Iida says as quietly as possible, as soon as the vampire is out of arms reach. The way the vampire's head tilts though, Izuku knows that he can still _hear_ them. 

"He said-" Izuku starts, but Iida shushes her with an abrupt hand motion. 

"Remember out discussion of _older men_? That is one, Midoriya. Right there, and we have no hope of holding our own against him!" Iida looks like he's ready to continue, but a rough, sarcastic laugh echoes from down the street, where the vampire has stopped. 

"Four-eyes is worth something, huh? Try not to forget the name Bakugou, you piece of trash," he calls over his shoulder, giving them one last baring of teeth before he vanishes into a group of people coming out of a bar. 

"Well," Uraraka says, finally breaking the silence. " _Older_ man or not, at least your mystery guy has more manners than _Bakugou_! Rude. Hey, I.. I kind of like _Deku_ though! It fits with your 'never-give-up' personality!"

If Iida had his way, the three of them would be packing up and running straight to All Might's right now, but Uraraka's speech has Izuku frozen, the ache easing in her chest.

"Yeah," Izuku murmurs, finally kneeling to finish picking up her things. Her friends help to gather the papers, and then both of them off her a hand up. 

"Okay! I'm ready, onward to All Might!" Izuku tells them, grinning. The smile is as brave as she can make it, but she's more worried than she lets either of them realize. 

So far she's been up against small fry demons and newly risen vampires. She's been training like mad, and All Might has more than given her the tools and knowledge to fight, but... The look on Bakugou's face. The barely contained violence in his eyes... She's not sure she has what it takes to hold her own against him.

_Deku_ , indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Bakugou appears! My thoughts for his character in this verse gel fairly well with canon - less so for vampires in the BtVS verse, I think. I'm still very much enjoying writing this rendition of him though!


	5. detonation

After a month, Izuku wants to give up on badgering her sensei. All Might just won't give in and give Izuku everything he has on Bakugou Katsuki. She knows it, Iida knows it, and even Uraraka points out that sensei is being shifty as all get out. Even though Izuku is frustrated with him (and if she's being honest, she's a little bit _hurt_ , does he not.. trust her?), what information he does give her is bad enough.

Bakugou Katsuki is at least two hundred years old. He's recorded as being more than fond of violence, but his true love seems to be arson and _bombing_. There are patterns to it though. He doesn't just choose buildings or people willy-nilly (and, _god_ , the people. The accounts of people being tortured with fire are going to give Izuku nightmares for months), though if someone pisses him off purposefully, he is known for retaliation.   
He seems to choose people and buildings that aren't exactly on the up-and-up. Places where the low-lifes hang out - gangs, prostitution rings, druglords... Any and everyone he deems _worthless_.

"I'm going to be honest with you, young Midoriya. Bakugou giving you the... the nickname of _Deku_ isn't reassuring. For now, I just want you to continue to focus on endurance training. Try to stay in crowded areas and-"

"All Might!" Izuku immediately protests. "I'm a Slayer! This- fighting people like this? It's exactly what you've been training me for, isn't it? I know that you're worried, and I am too, but," Izuku jumps when All Might slams the dusty tome in his hands onto the table between them. The noise _echoes_ before All Might starts speaking.

"No. What you just said is exactly why I want you to focus on _running away_. They are not PEOPLE! Bakugou Katsuki is not someone you can reason with! Dealing with him is not training, it is not an exercise where if you fail, you get up and try again. You- you could _die_." When he finishes his tirade, All Might is breathing hard, his thin fingers shaking against the book he'd slammed onto the table. _This_ , he thinks, _this is when I should say something. Do it, Toshinori!_

"I know," Izuku whispers, and watches his face turn as pale as the night she'd broken his foot. "I know I could die. I mean.. I'm fighting monsters! I use pointy weapons on them! I kill _them_! And you think I haven't realized that they could do the same thing to me?" Izuku had thought she was past this, she really did, and she's ashamed to realize that scalding tears are streaking down her face.   
"I can think pretty quickly, and I retain information well, but this? The physicality of it? I know I'm not naturally gifted. I have to _work_ at this! It's hard! I miss sleeping in and eating junk food every day, but you know what? I still want to be good at this, even if I have to try twice as hard!"

The small gym is silent, and the longer All Might continues to be at a loss for words, the worse Izuku feels. 

"If it's okay with you, I'm going to go for a walk to cool down," she says, just loud enough for him to hear, before she snatches her jacket off the hook by the door and heads down to the beach. Not too far from his ramshackle place, there's a pier and a small gazebo at the end of it. Couples seem to gather there in the summer, but the weather is growing icy, and she hasn't seen anyone out here over the past few days.

Izuku hopes that she hasn't angered her teacher permanently. What if.. What if he's decided to teach a different Slayer? The thought is painful, and she can't help sniffling again as she wanders out to the gazebo. She's leaning her elbows on the railing, staring morosely out at the waves, when All Might finally catches up with her.

"Midoriya," he sighs, stopping a few feet away. When she turns to him, All Might is staring down at the wooden planks of the pier, clenching and unclenching his fists. "I'm sorry. The way I've been acting, how I've put off telling you things - I know it must seem like I have no confidence in your abilities. I _do_ , though, Midoriya, I do believe in you, and that's why it's time for us to... Time for us to talk about the other Slayers."

Panic floods her nervous system. Do Slayers have waking prescience? Or is that _only_ relegated to dreams? She doesn't know, she's never even thought to _ask_. Was he going to hand her off to a different Watcher because- no. All Might wouldn't do that, not after talking about how he _does_ have confidence in her. 

"Am I... Going to meet one of them?" She asks, her voice small.

That, however, seems to be the wrong question to ask. All Might is covering his face, groaning into his hands and muttering something about being an utter failure of a teacher. She's fully intending on stopping him because _what is he saying?_ Izuku thinks the world of him! She even takes a step forward, but a harsh bark of laughter draws her attention to the end of the pier. A sharp _zing_ of pain shoots through her belly - a warning. 

"Failure is right! No wonder you're such a useless Slayer, Deku! You don't even know your god damned history!" The words are bad enough on their own, but the meaning of them doesn't really penetrate the haze in her brain, because the _voice_ speaking them means something much worse. 

Bakugou Katsuki is here to make good on his threat.

All Might is only a few feet away, but all Izuku can think about is that he's not _behind_ her. That Bakugou could, potentially, get to him and use him against her and - she can't let that happen. Not now, not ever. All Might is her Watcher, her friend- he's her _family_ now. She inches forward until she has a good view of them vampire and All Might is nearly within reach.  
She says the first thing that comes to mind, uncaring that it makes her sound nervous and juvenile. 

"Uh- hi Kacchan! Long time no see?" Izuku darts forward, seizing All Might's thin wrist and ignoring the guilt that flares when he gasps in pain. She yanks him behind her and then puts a bit of distance between them, getting closer to Bakugou and raising her arms defensively. 

The blond vampire grits his teeth, eyes flashing gold in the darkness, but forces out a chuckle.   
"Real _cute_ , Deku. So, you wanna meet some of the other Slayers, huh?" He crooks a finger, taking a few short steps _away_ from the pier. "I can give you a first class ticket."

"Midoriya, this is what I've been trying to tell you! _You_ are the Slayer! There is, you see-" All Might grimaces when Bakugou snaps his fingers and bares his teeth, stalling further speech.

"Shut it, teach! She wants a visit with another Slayer? She just has to come over here! Come on, Deku, you going to accept my offer or not?" Bakugou reaches out to her again, palm up, like he's waiting to help her step down from the pier. 

All Might's phrasing finally makes sense in her mind. Every sigh from Iida when she talked about Slayer history, every downward glance from her Watcher - she's spent the better part of a year believing... Believing too much in All Might, and his published works. 

She is _the_ Slayer. 

She is alone. 

And the only ticket Bakugou Katsuki holds is death.


	6. to build faith

Izuku's mind is racing. Dusting Bakugou Katsuki is... at the very top of the _Not Likely_ list. Not with her amount of experience. But she _needs_ to take him out of the equation so she and All Might-sensei can escape, because she meant what she'd said to him earlier. She is going to fight, she _wants_ to succeed. She cannot die here.  
  
The gentle slap of the ocean waves and the soft rumble of a speedboat fill the silence for a bit too long. Bakugou's fingers are starting to curl into his palm.  
  
"Sorry, Kacchan!" She says, smiling widely, all false bravado as she lowers her fists. The confidence in her statement is slightly ruined by the tears stinging at the corners of her eyes, but the words still serve to throw the vampire off balance. "I'll have to take a rain-check on that ticket. It's just - I'm really _busy_!" She isn't sure whether All Might is paying attention to the hand motions behind her back, finger pointing viciously towards the gazebo railing, but she hears shuffling and she _trusts_ him. Even now.  
  
"Busy, huh?" Bakugou grunts, arm dropping back down to his side. "You realize I'm trying to make this easy for you? Trying to make it quick?"  
  
Maybe, just maybe, if they make it out of this, she can guilt All Might-sensei into giving her the _full_ scoop on Bakugou Katsuki's history. Something about the way he's speaking sounds almost _genuine_.  
  
"I have this bad habit," Izuku says, trying to sound like she's venting to a friend, "of pushing myself. I don't give up! It's kind of a pain, right?" She takes a deep breath, blowing it out with a sigh. "I'm not interested in an easy way out." She raises her head, smiling again, knowing her cheeks are flushed from fear and adrenaline.  
"After all, I'm the Slayer."  
  
Bakugou makes a _tch_ sound, boot thumping against the stairs of the pier, but Izuku doesn't wait for him to reach her. She whirls and runs straight for All Might and where he's standing next to the gazebo railing, his eyes wide.  
  
"Sorry, All Might!" She gets out. "This is going to be cold!" Izuku wraps an arm around his waist, yanking him with her and using all the momentum she's built up to _break_ through the railing and leap as far as she can towards the water.  
  
All Might gives out a strangled yell, and out of the corner of her eye, Izuku catches sight of the speed boat coming their way: The coast guard. They fall into the choppy waves, the cold like a sucker punch to the gut, the tide tugging at their coats with icy, grasping fingers. Izuku is a strong swimmer, and she has her Slayer strength to add to the mix, but she doesn't know about All Might. She kicks, feeling some of the seams of All Might's coat begin to give way under her tight grip, but when they break the surface he's coughing up the water he probably swallowed when he was yelling.  
  
The coast guard boat is idling, not horribly far away, and the mounted spotlight they shine towards them is _blinding_. It takes Izuku a moment to adjust, but by the time she can make out the pier, she can't spot anyone waiting on it. Until the coast guard pulls them up onto the deck, she is half expecting Bakugou to come leaping out of the water like a shark, but for the moment? They're alive. They're safe.  
  
She starts to sob into her shaking hands.  
  
-  
  
In the end, they're both treated for potential hypothermia, but Izuku is fine. All Might comes away bruised and aching, but it doesn't take long before they're released, dressed in dry clothing from the Coast Guard's 'Lost  & Found' box.  
  
"Midoriya-" All Might starts, as soon as there is no longer a risk that they might be overheard.  
  
"I'm sorry!" Izuku interrupts, scrubbing at her dry, tired eyes and ignoring All Might-sensei's fumbling concern. "I - I really think I have the right to know the rest about Bakugou, and everything else you're hiding from me, sensei, but- I need to go home. My mother is probably worried sick and I... I don't know if I can listen to you right now."  
  
All Might's hand falls away from her shoulder and he nods his head, too rapidly for the ordeal they just went through. He nearly overbalances before Izuku is seizing his shoulder to steady him.  
  
"Of course. Whenever you're ready, whenever - you know where to find me, young Midoriya." All Might summons up a weak smile and it _hurts_ her, she wishes she could forgive and forget- but she isn't that Izuku Midoriya anymore.  
It's time for her to build faith in _herself_.  
  
-  
  
While Slayer healing has left her hale and whole, Izuku is still emotionally tired for _days_. She knows her mom is fretting (she thinks she's had a fallout with one of her friends and... Inko isn't exactly wrong), but she only has so much energy to spare for anything outside of schoolwork and patrols (and paranoia) right now.  
  
Bakugou had wanted to _kill_ her.  
  
There was a huge difference between the mindless newbie vampires she encountered on a near daily basis, and the intent Bakugou had displayed. It was _personal_ because he'd gone to the trouble to seek her out, because she wasn't sure she would have been in that position if All Might had simply _told her the truth_.  
  
At this point, after having stewed in her own thoughts for several days, she wasn't entirely sure she cared about the _reason_  All Might had kept the Bakugou information from her. She deserved to know, of course, but the information about the origin of the Slayer was _vital_. She is the **only** Slayer! She has no back-up, no super-powered help to call in but what meager spells Uraraka has been building and Uraraka is as new to this as she is!  
  
The thought has her physically stumbling into her door frame. There was no way Uraraka could have known, but _Iida_. Iida's family were part of the Watcher's Council! She'd talked over crossbow techniques with him, not a week ago, and he _loved_ to ramble off his textbook knowledge - Iida knew too.  
  
She clutches at her chest, sinking to her knees, forcing herself to breathe in through her nose and out through her mouth. She isn't sure whether it's worse or not, that Iida hadn't said anything, but she doesn't have time to emotionally wallow for any longer.  
  
She'd given Bakugou her _full name_ , all those weeks ago, before she'd realized what the ache in her abdomen was. It wouldn't take a genius to track her and her mother down, and Bakugou was _very smart_. He had to have been, being this old.  
  
Izuku needs to set aside her hurt feelings for the time being and talk to All Might about this mess, before Bakugou decides it's time to try again.  
  
Her eyes fall on All Might's most recent novel, already 3 years old, and she snags it off her bedside table. To be honest, she needs to ask questions about all of the books now, but ' _Nana_ ' will do to start with.

**Author's Note:**

> For some reason, whenever I end up writing for kinkmemes, I _never_ end up writing smut or sexual kinks. It's always AU things, and I just... I really don't know why. I have really enjoyed writing for this though, so please do let me know if you're interested in more!


End file.
